Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) sources claim over 80% of the 9,500 tenements sold to former mill workers at a highly concessional rate of Rs 11 lakh each have been re-sold for between Rs 40 and Rs 60 lakh.Nauzer Bharucha | TNN | October 15, 2017, 09:45 IST

MUMBAI: A subsidized housing scheme for mill workers in central Mumbai has turned into a real estate bonanza for them with most allottees illegally selling their tenements in collusion with brokers, agents and middlemen.

Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) sources claim over 80% of the 9,500 tenements sold to former mill workers at a highly concessional rate of Rs 11 lakh each have been re-sold for between Rs 40 and Rs 60 lakh.

Law stipulates that these tenements cannot be sold for 10 years, but the government allows renting them out. Recently , a special monitoring committee headed by a retired judge, too, averred to irregularities in the allotment of as ma ny as 1,228 tenements. Sources said brokers, agents and middlemen were negotiating deals.

These 225-square-foot flats in prime areas such as Prabhadevi and Worli have changed hands for up to Rs 60 lakh each, said Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh leader Sachin Ahir. He, though, pegged the total transactions at around 20% of the allotments Mhada made through a lottery system since 2012.

Several of these tenements are also believed to have been amalgamated into larger flats and sold for more than Rs 1 crore, said housing authority sources. Subhash Lakhe, chief offiS cer, Mumbai Board of Mhada, said so far, there has been no case of irregular allotment of mill workers' tenements. “However, if Mhada finds out such cases, we will file FIRs,“ he said.

Veteran union leader Datta Ishwalkar also confirmed that several tenements have been sold. “Many of them have rented out their homes because the government has now officially allowed them to do so. They have taken heavy deposits and signed agreements transferring ownership to the buyer after 10 years,“ he added.

Ahir said brokers and middlemen were also active and buying out ownership rights of mill workers by striking deals with them. “We want Mhada to investigate who are the real heirs of of the mill workers,“ he said.

Housing activist Chandrashekhar Prabhu said responsibility needs to be fixed for these irregularities.

Last July , former Bombay high court judge A S Aguiar, who heads the monitoring committee on allotment of mill workers' tenements, said the Mhada advocate admitted to irregularities in 1,228 tenement allotments.

However, “he assured us there are no cases where possession of more than one flat has been given to a single applicant“, said the order.

“Admittedly , there have been irregularities in allotments during previous lottery draws conducted by Mhada, primarily due to reasons stated by mill workers' unions and associations.Mhada filed its response to the 1,228 instances of irregularities, admitting to instances of double allotment, occupants of chawls on mill land and other ineligible applicants having succeeded in obtaining allotment...,“ it said.

The committee has now set guidelines to ensure transparency in future allotments.“Before holding the lottery, Mhada will prepare a comprehensive list of ex-mill workers of 58 mills with their provident fund number and other details,“ it said.

According to the division of defunct mill lands, a small portion was reserved for providing housing to mill workers. From 37 defunct mills, Mhada has been able to construct 24,800 tenements, of which two-thirds were reserved for mill workers and the rest for transit accommodation. Since 2012, more than 9,500 tenements have been allotted to mill workers and their families.

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